Door Lock Actuator Replacement (3 Viewers)

[socalsuv]

I had the normal symptoms of a door lock actuator gone bad (many threads on this) so I went about investigating this issue over the weekend. I was hoping I could find something that could be remedied by a little bit of cleaning / maintenance, but that wasn't the case.

Removal of the door trim wasn't bad, but getting the door lock assembly out was a bit of a pain (kept getting my arm hair stuck in the tar-like adhesive for the plastic sheeting). Once I got the lock assembly out, I detached the actuator (held on by 3 screws). The actuator itself is not a solenoid as some other threads state. I popped off the cover.....it is actually a small DC motor.

Actuator:



Actuator exploded:



I plugged in the actuator (without the cover and not attached to the lock assembly) to the electrical connector and operated the door lock switch. I could see the motor spinning strongly the first few presses of the switch, but then it would slowly die down. I tried cleaning all the contacts / moving parts, but nothing improved. Since I realized I had to replace the motor, I decided to take it apart and investigate. I immediately saw that the graphite brushes were almost completely disintegrated....not sure if this was the only problem.

So, in an ideal world I could just replace this little $8 hobby motor. The really unfortunate thing is that not even the actuator itself is sold by itself. I tried every avenue for parts searching and can only find the actuator sold with the entire lock assembly (lock mechanism, cables, actuator). This is really annoying since the actuator is a separate component and bolts (screws) on to the assembly. I didn't want to go the junk yard route since who knows how long the used actuator would last.

So I did find the lock assembly cheapest on CruiserParts.net for $169. I called my Lexus dealership to get a price on the assembly just for my own edification. They sell the assembly for $330 and would probably charge $500 total for them to do the job.

A few cents worth of graphite in the brushes of a motor results in a potential $500 repair.

If anyone ever finds a way of just buying the actuator and not the whole assembly, I would love to hear how you did it.

 

[uzj100]

You are the man! Thank you for the research. The question is where can we source that little motor. Are there any kind of markings on the little motor that would help in the search?

Thanks again,

uzj100

 

[socalsuv]

You are the man! Thank you for the research. The question is where can we source that little motor. Are there any kind of markings on the little motor that would help in the search?

Thanks again,

uzj100

No markings on the motor, but I think the problem is that the motor is a very specific shape with a very specific connector (two prong....see photo).

 

[uzj100]

Bad Door Lock Actuator - Lexus Owners Club (USA & Canada)

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-NEW-Mabuchi-M...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Check out the ebay link. THis is the one used to fix lexus door locks.

Does the gear on the front of the motor unscrew?

 

[socalsuv]

I think I may have found the motor.

JOHNSON ELECTRIC Product Catalog

Dimensionally, the motor seems to be the same (or very close.....+/- .2mm). Its application is listed as "door lock".

Other than how to purchase the motor, the only remaining issue is the copper colored collar on the motor shaft that engages the worm gear (see photo).



I'm hoping the collar is just press fit on to the shaft splines. I will try to remove it and see what happens.

 

[socalsuv]

Bad Door Lock Actuator - Lexus Owners Club (USA & Canada)

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-NEW-Mabuchi-Mini-Motors-9V-12V-DC_W0QQitemZ180281163667QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180281163667&_trkparms=72%3A552%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Check out the ebay link. THis is the one used to fix lexus door locks.

Does the gear on the front of the motor unscrew?

Wow.....YOU are the man. That looks like the exact motor, with the copper colored collar. The dimensions match exactly. 5 motors for $4.98!!!! I'm going to buy these and see what happens.

 

[uzj100]

Now we need to figure out how to fix the windows and those motors!

Thank you for the great pictures and write up.

 

[socalsuv]

I just ordered the 5 door lock motors from eBay for $10 shipped. My door lock assembly order had not yet shipped from CruiserParts so I just cancelled it. If these motors work, I think we found a $10 solution for all 5 door locks failing on our cruisers. Thanks for the eBay link UZJ100!!! I will follow-up on this thread once they arrive and I try them out.

 

[Letsgomoreplaces]

Nice work!

Nice work on this one. Looking forward to the results.

 

[Travis351]

Bad Door Lock Actuator - Lexus Owners Club (USA & Canada)

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-NEW-Mabuchi-Mini-Motors-9V-12V-DC_W0QQitemZ180281163667QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180281163667&_trkparms=72%3A552%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Check out the ebay link. THis is the one used to fix lexus door locks.

Does the gear on the front of the motor unscrew?

Amazing! What did you use for search terms to find them so quickly? Great thread!

 

[uzj100]

I just googled, "door lock mini dc motor" and the Club Lexus - Home started popping up all over and then on to Ebay.

I hope it works. My door lock is driving me crazy.

 

[socalsuv]

I already got a notice from the eBay seller that he put the motors in the mail today. I'll be on vacation for a long Labor Day weekend until Tuesday night. I'll try the motor out first thing Wednesday and post back the results.

 

[pint]

I just ordered the 5 door lock motors from eBay for $10 shipped. My door lock assembly order had not yet shipped from CruiserParts so I just cancelled it. If these motors work, I think we found a $10 solution for all 5 door locks failing on our cruisers. Thanks for the eBay link UZJ100!!! I will follow-up on this thread once they arrive and I try them out.

Let us know if this works as my drivers door is acting up occasionally. You da man!

 

[socalsuv]

So I got the 5 new DC motors in the mail from eBay. They fit perfectly in to the actuator.



I applied some dielctric grease on the contacts of the actuator clamshell and then epoxied both halves of the clamshell back together in a few spots. There is a lot of torque in that little motor and if you don't secure the clamshell together, it will blow apart. You don't want to go overboard on the epoxy / adhesive either or else you won't be able to open it up again to replace the motor if/when it dies.

I then plugged in the actuator (disconnected from the assembly) to verify that it worked and worked strongly....it did.



Here is the "actuator" attached to the door lock assembly. This is the entire assembly that all dealers will want to replace.



SUCCESS!!! I now have a perfectly functioning door lock!

So as a recap.....the 5 motors cost me $4.98 plus shipping.

 

[uzj100]

Sweet. How did you get the little gear off the original motor and on the new motor?

 

[socalsuv]

It just slides right off....almost too easily if you ask me. There is a flat spot on the shaft collar that drives the gear.

 

[uzj100]

Thanks for all the leg work on this. I am ordering motors now.

uzj100

Ordered!

 

[knorrena]

Here is another way. Order the rear door lock actuator from an lx450 at cruiserparts.net. These cost $30 a pop. Inside is the little motor you need. I have replaced 2 door lock actuators this way, and keep a few of these actuators in my spare parts bin. In fact almost any toyota product uses these little motors - my wifes rx needed the rear actuator replaced and I ordered a new one (it had mechanical issues not elector-mechanical) and the left over one has that little motor in it as well.

Cheers,

Karl

 

[socalsuv]

Here is another way. Order the rear door lock actuator from an lx450 at cruiserparts.net. These cost $30 a pop. Inside is the little motor you need. I have replaced 2 door lock actuators this way, and keep a few of these actuators in my spare parts bin. In fact almost any toyota product uses these little motors - my wifes rx needed the rear actuator replaced and I ordered a new one (it had mechanical issues not elector-mechanical) and the left over one has that little motor in it as well.

Cheers,

Karl

Good to know, but don't think that its necessary to pay $30 for a motor when we've found them for under $1 a peice.

If the eBay seller runs out of these motors, they are made by Mabuchi. The Mabuchi part number is: fc-280pt-22125. You can google the part number and find them many places.

 

[BillWms01]

WOW! You guys are amazing!

Not a solenoid, huh? Must be a fast motor, or geared up to actuate the lock quickly.

Might have to buy me a few motors as spares...

And, to think that the Club Lexus forum found about this before IH8MUD!

EDIT: I noticed on the Ebay listing the motor is 14,500 rpm! Fast motor indeed!